Jo Ellis, a transgender helicopter pilot, has shared a “proof of life” video after she was falsely identified as the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with American Airlines’ passenger jet in Washington, US, on Wednesday, leaving 67 people dead.
Sharing a video on Facebook, Jo Ellis can be heard saying, “Interesting morning. This is Jo Ellis. I am a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the Virginia National Guard for 15 years. I understand some people have associated me with a crash in DC and that is false.”
Jo Ellis added it was insulting to the families of victims “to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this. And I hope you all know that I am alive and well.”
Sharing the video on Facebook, Jo Ellis wrote, “Proof of life and statement.”
Jo Ellis has also shared a screenshot of tweets on X (formerly Twitter) that have linked the pilot to the deadly crash. In the post, a user stated that they “wouldn’t be surprised” if “the pilot was trans” while replying to another post claiming Jo Ellis “has been making radicalised anti-Trump statements on socials.” The other person later deleted the post and even published an apology.
Along with the screenshot on Facebook, Jo Ellis said, “Some craziness has happened on the internet and I’m being named as one of the pilots of the DC crash. Please report any accounts or posts you see. It’s insulting to the victims and families of those lost and they deserve better than this BS from the bots and trolls of the internet.”
According to The New York Times, Jo Ellis was among the top trends on X on Friday, with more than 90,000 posts talking about the false claims.
Earlier, the identity of two of the three soldiers aboard the helicopter was revealed. For the third person, the officials decided to hold the name back due to the family’s request.
The Army, later, released the name of the third crew soldier onboard the Black Hawk helicopter, identifying her as Captain Rebecca Lobach.
The 28-year-old was a native of Durham and was a distinguished military graduate from the University of North Carolina.
She was joined by fellow pilot Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, 39 and Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, 28.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump along with several other Republicans, blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for the fatal crash near Ronald Reagan National Airport.